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Islands in focus: Diphtheria outbreak hits Padang
The West Sumatra Health Agency is running a drive to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children in Padang and three surrounding regencies against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus after the city declared a health emergency
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T
he West Sumatra Health Agency is running a drive to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children in Padang and three surrounding regencies against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus after the city declared a health emergency. West Sumatra Health Agency head Rosnini Savitri said two of six children diagnosed with diphtheria had died.
'During the last four weeks, 28 cases of children with suspected diphtheria have been found, six of which tested positive for the diphtheria bacteria,' Rosnini told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
'Some of the patients have been sent home. However, three more diphtheria patients were rushed to M. Djamil General Hospital, Padang. The patients have passed the critical stage, but we won't get the latest examination results of their illness for another two weeks,' she went on.
Those admitted to M. Djamil General Hospital are all children. They all had high fever, sore throats and shortness of breath.
The vaccination drive is being in Padang and Solok, Padangpariaman and Pesisir Selatan.
'The immunization drive is up and running. In Padang, we are targeting 254,000 children and adolescents aged between 2 months and 15 years for vaccination against diphtheria, while data from the three regencies has not been submitted,' said Rosnini.
